Courage

Some people have told me that they admire my courage in working with inner city kids and moving my family to Homewood. I never really know what to say when people talk to me about my courage, because I do not believe that the courage comes from me. I believe that I am a follower of Jesus Christ, and hopefully all of my words and actions flow out of that relationship. In fact, every person who follows Jesus should live their lives with profound courage. That does not mean that every person must work and live in the inner city. I am saying that every Christian faces daily choices about what to do with their fear. The life of a Christian requires great courage, the type of courage that flows through us because of our relationship with God. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. demonstrated remarkable courage during his lifetime, and he was killed for it. He had a lot to say about courage. Here are some examples:

"A man who won't die for something is not fit to live."

"The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy. The true neighbor will risk his position, his prestige, and even his life for the welfare of others. In dangerous valleys and hazardous pathways, he will lift some bruised and beaten brother to a higher and more noble life."

"Courage faces fear and thereby masters it. Cowardice represses fear and is thereby mastered by it. Courageous men never lose the zest for living even though their life situation is zestless; cowardly men, overwhelmed by the uncertainties of life, lose the will to live. We must constantly build dykes of courage to hold back the flood of fear."

"Many people fear nothing more terribly than to take a position which stands out sharply and clearly from the prevailing opinion. The tendency of most is to adopt a view that is so ambiguous that it will include everything and so popular that it will include everybody. Not a few men who cherish lofty and noble ideas hide them under a bushel for fear of being called different."